MPPSC 2022 Prelims Paper-I · Question 85 of 100

Correct — A, 1949. The Reserve Bank of India, originally set up as a privately-owned shareholders' bank under the RBI Act, 1934, was nationalised on 1 January 1949 — transferring its ownership entirely to the Government of India.

• (b)1935 — 1935 is when the RBI itself was established and commenced operations under the RBI Act, 1934 — not when it was nationalised; at that point it was still a shareholder-owned bank.
• (c)1969 — 1969 is the year of the major nationalisation of 14 large commercial banks (State Bank of India excepted) — a separate, later event from the RBI's own 1949 nationalisation.
• (d)1992 — 1992 has no connection to the RBI's ownership history; it is more associated with securities-market and financial-sector reforms of that period, not with nationalisation.

The Reserve Bank of India began in 1935 as a privately owned central bank under the RBI Act, 1934. It was nationalised on 1 January 1949, transferring full ownership to the Government of India and making it a fully state-owned central bank — distinct from the later 1969 and 1980 waves of nationalisation that brought commercial banks under government ownership.

This is a classic 'don't confuse the founding year with the nationalisation year' trap — 1935 (founded/commenced operations) vs 1949 (nationalised) vs 1969 (14 commercial banks nationalised) vs 1980 (6 more commercial banks nationalised).

• RBI established 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934 — originally shareholder-owned.
• RBI nationalised 1 January 1949 — full government ownership.
• 1969: 14 major commercial banks were nationalised (not the RBI itself).
• 1980: 6 more commercial banks were nationalised.

• Confusing RBI's founding year (1935) with its nationalisation year (1949)
• Mixing up RBI's 1949 nationalisation with the 1969/1980 commercial-bank nationalisation waves

Usually a direct year-recall MCQ; UPSC prefers wrapping the same fact in an assertion/statement format that pairs the correct nationalisation date against a deliberately wrong one.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Reserve Bank of India commenced operations under which Act, and in which year?

  • (a)RBI Act, 1934 — 1935
  • (b)Banking Regulation Act, 1949 — 1949
  • (c)RBI Act, 1934 — 1949
  • (d)Companies Act, 1913 — 1935

  Answer(a) RBI Act, 1934 — the RBI commenced operations on 1 April 1935.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In which year were 14 major commercial banks in India nationalised?

  • (a)1949
  • (b)1969
  • (c)1980
  • (d)1991

  Answer(b) 1969 — 14 large commercial banks were nationalised, a separate event from RBI's own 1949 nationalisation.